#also for the alphys comparison i'd look specifically at around 1:41 for battle against a true hero

[maddieandangel]

God I love Battle Against a True Hero. It's another one of those songs that are made out of parts of other songs (like Death by Glamour is), and just. Augh

(Disclaimer: I Do Not know the proper music terminology for stuff, apologies in advance dgsgsgf)

Battle Against a True Hero can be split into three main sections, beginning roughly at 0:00, 0:45, and 1:36 respectively.

I'm also going to throw the rest of this under a cut, because the analysis ended up EXTREMELY long lmao

----------

Where the first section comes from is obvious, so I'm not going to spend too much time on it. It's the Power of NEO leitmotif, which is also present in, well, Power of "NEO" (Mettaton NEO's battle theme), as well as BIG SHOT (Spamton NEO's battle theme) in Deltarune. It seems to be the usual melody for someone powering up beyond their normal capabilities, basically.

That second section, however, is actually from An Ending. Specifically starting at around the 1:01 mark of An Ending, lasting for the rest of the song.

(If you can't hear it, I actually first noticed it in Respite! Which, as a whole, is pretty much just another version of An Ending, but its version of the shared melody is closer to Battle Against a True Hero's than An Ending's is, being basically a slowed down version of it without any of An Ending's extra notes. It starts at around 0:36!)

Though actually, I'm gonna go on a bit of a tangent here and talk more about all of An Ending, because both of Undyne's battle themes are actually connected to it, and I'd argue that so is Undyne as a whole.

I believe it's already fairly well known that Ruins and the second half of Spear of Justice share a leitmotif. At a first glance, and just comparing those two songs, that doesn't make much sense! Undyne has nothing to do with the Ruins.

And that's because both songs are actually connected to An Ending, and are taking the leitmotif from that. The similarities between Ruins and Spear of Justice are the result of them branching off of the same root.

An Ending begins in the same way that Ruins does, just slower. Which I think is really neat!! We're coming full circle. The music that played in the first area in the game is now being played at the end of a Neutral route.

Thus, of course, the first minute or so of An Ending also bears a resemblance to the second part of Spear of Justice. And, additionally, An Ending itself can actually play in Undyne's fight too! Specifically, it plays after you kill her on the Neutral route, when her body has started to fall apart but she refuses to give in and keeps trying to fight you. Which I think might be the only time it plays outside of the Neutral Ending phone calls. So, that might be one reason Spear of Justice and An Ending share a melody; they both play in the same fight, so giving them some similarities might make the song transition smoother.

However! Undyne as a character is also very heavily connected to the various Neutral endings. I'd argue that she's actually the most important when it comes to determining the type of ending you get. I've seen people kind of argue before that that's Papyrus, but. No. I absolutely adore Paps, but the main thing his life or death changes is the manner in which the information in the phone call is presented to you. It either comes from someone who cares deeply about you as a friend basically unconditionally, who will always think positively of you no matter what you do, and thus will generally try to present things as positively as he can, no matter how bleak the situation actually is (though some of that also comes from him wanting to hide his sadness around Sans). Or, if Papyrus is dead, the information comes from someone who isn't as fond of you after everything you've done.

There's a hierarchy of sorts that decides who becomes the new leader of the Underground after Asgore, depending on who's alive. It goes Toriel > Undyne > Mettaton > Papyrus > Leaderless/Dog/Alphys. Undyne is the only character who can break this hierarchy, overthrowing Toriel, exiling her, and becoming the ruler herself, if you've caused her to hate humans enough by killing either Papyrus or just a lot of regular monsters from random encounters. Toriel can also be forced to step down by the general populace if Undyne has been killed, leaving the Underground leaderless.

And even among the endings where Toriel remains queen, the things Papyrus says to you change depending on the impression you've left on Undyne. Of course, if you've befriended her, you get the happy ending that will lead into True Pacifist after a reload! But if you didn't, then you get a separate ending. Or, if you did befriend her but then decided to betray her by killing someone in Hotland or later, then you'll get another ending, where Undyne hates you so much that even Papyrus doesn't want you to return to the Underground, out of concern for your safety (which is actually the only ending where he doesn't want you to come back!). Or, if you kill Mettaton, prompting Alphys to commit suicide, then she'll become utterly broken and depressed to the point that Papyrus is really concerned for her.

So, all in all, it feels fitting for even the music to show a connection between Undyne and the Neutral endings.

Extremely long tangent that probably should've been its own post over, dgdgsgsgf.

Battle Against a True Hero, of course, takes from a different section of An Ending than Spear of Justice or Ruins do. Respite (which plays at the end of the True Pacifist route, while everyone is on the cliff looking at the sunset) also does this, though I'm not sure if there's actually any sort of intended connection between Respite and Battle Against a True Hero. But I suppose you could say Undyne is fighting for respite, to put an end to your massacre of the Underground. And there's also something to be said about the contrast between the two wildly different routes.

But also, the fact that An Ending appears in Battle Against a True Hero at all. Ough. Undyne wants this to be an ending. She wants to kill you, to stop you from harming anyone more. In reality, though, this is only the midpoint of the run. Unless you decide to give up, you aren't anywhere near your ending yet. Perhaps that's why this section of Battle Against a True Hero is slightly different from An Ending, with it having certain notes omitted (aside from the fact that, with the faster pace, the smaller amount of notes probably sounds and flows better). It's An Ending, but not quite. Not for you. Not yet.

But you know who this is an ending for? Undyne.

Even in timelines where she succeeds in killing you, Undyne is as good as dead. She's already supposed to be dead at this point, and only came back through sheer Determination. But monster bodies can't handle such large amounts of Determination, and Undyne is no exception. Her Undying form is only temporary, and while it will last her long enough to fight you, she's going to die soon after, be it by your hand or by the inevitable destabilization of her form. This is Undyne's end, but she's going to do everything in her power to make sure she takes you down with her.

Additionally, the fact that this section isn't exactly the same as An Ending could be applied to Undyne herself as well. It is her ending, but not quite. Not yet. She's not ready to die, to just let you continue your rampage uninterrupted. She refuses to give in. In her Neutral route death, Undyne only really has one dangerous attack once you "kill" her. Thus, the actual, unchanged An Ending plays, because it is her end, and you will continue to survive, and there's nothing she can do about it. But here, in her Undying form, she at least has a Very Real chance of killing you and ensuring that the two of you die together. So while a version of An Ending plays, signalling her inevitable end, it's not quite the same, because she still has the power to end you too.

Finally, the last part might be a bit more of a stretch, but it resembles part of Alphys' theme (just called "Alphys")! Specifically at around 0:31. It's like Battle Against a True Hero took that section of Alphys' theme and expanded on it more.

Which. Augh! My heart. Undyne's doing all this, fighting so hard to stop you, in order to protect Alphys and everyone else living in Hotland and the capital (and even the humans beyond the Barrier, at this point). She cares So Much about everyone that Alphys even appears in her battle theme. They're all her fuel to keep fighting. She won't survive this battle, which she always knew could happen in her field of work and is why she never confessed her feelings to Alphys, but if she can at least save everyone else from meeting the same fate as those from Waterfall and before, then that'll be enough. This section represents the people she's fighting for.

And, as Undyne says once you land the killing blow on her, Alphys herself is watching the fight. She's working in the background, where you can't reach her, preparing an evacuation for everyone left in the Underground.

Even the order of the parts of Battle Against a True Hero creates a story of what Undyne's thoughts might be as the fight progresses.

It starts out with the Power of NEO leitmotif. Undyne's renewed energy and increased strength is on full display, ready to destroy you. The song starts out softer at first, as Undyne warms up, before both it and her attacks ramp up as more instruments are added and her power is further unleashed. The wind howls in the background.

Then, the song progresses into the An Ending section, though Power of NEO can still be heard as well. Undyne wants this fight to be the end of you and your murderous spree. This is supposed to be your ending. But as she continues to fight, perhaps she begins to think about how it's going to be an ending for her, too. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, she's not going to come out of it alive. Maybe she's even begun to feel the effects of her excess Determination already, but hides it.

And so she begins to think about Alphys, and while her attacks don't let up, the music softens. She thinks about Alphys. And she thinks about Asgore. And she thinks about everyone else in Hotland and beyond. And she knows she's never going to see them again. Did she even get the chance to say goodbye? Probably not. She probably wouldn't have wanted to entertain the thought of her losing outside of practicalities and backup plans; not out of a fear of death, but for others' sakes. Keep people's hopes up, promise them that she'll be fine.

But rather than let these thoughts break her down, they only serve to make her stronger. She's reminded of who she's fighting to protect, and the music ramps back up in accordance with that. She's the Hero of the Underground, and though her death is certain, she'll be damned if she's not going down without a fight. She's going to ensure that she's the last victim you ever kill, by taking you down with her.

It's SUCH a good song.